The recipe for Anzac biscuits was born out of necessity and dates back to the time of the First World War. With long transport times to reach the soldiers overseas, one opinion is that the recipe was developed for the required long storage. (In my family, the story is that this is why the biscuits are made without eggs.)
As a 6th generation Australian, this family recipe is original and comes from mum’s handwritten recipe book. Depending on the combination of oven temperature and cooking time, Anzac biscuits can be soft or crunchy. Preferences in my family are divided. While my choice is for crunchy, there are sometimes special requests for me to bake the softer style of lower temperature and shorter time.
mum’s original ANZAC biscuits recipe
1 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup coconut
1 cup (plain) flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarb of soda
2 tablespoons boiling waterMix oats, flour, sugar and coconut.
Melt syrup and butter together. Mix bicarb of soda and boiling water, then add to the melted syrup and butter mixture.
Add the liquid mix to the dry ingredients.
Place dessertspoons of mixture on a greased baking tray. (I use a small flat dessertspoon, not heaped, as the mixture spreads considerably. Place the rounds of mixture well apart.)
Bake in a slow oven for 20 minutes. Leave biscuits to cool on tray 2-3 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.
My contribution for the April newsletter for The Rocks was to use the Australian flavours of lemon myrtle wattleseed from the untoasted muesli of The Rocks Friday Foodies market in these biscuits. If you’d like to try the ANZAC biscuits recipe with that change take a look online here.
Mum’s ANZAC biscuits recipe has also been published online by SBS Food. And you can find more of mum’s delicious baking recipes here on Inside Cuisine.
This recipe is timely this month because ANZAC day is on the 25th. April also means a lot of things to a lot of people, and is significant in my family because Mum’s birthday was on the 8th. In loving memory.
Could not grab feed.
April 02 2011 at 7:30 am
I’ve been an Australian for more than 6 years but have never made Anzac biscuits. Your post has encouraged me to step forth in my Aussieness and make some this weekend! Thanks!
April 02 2011 at 9:47 am
Lovely thanks – enjoy – just make sure to leave room for spreading
April 02 2011 at 7:49 am
Sounds more or less right to me, though I remember them being darker in colour, and slightly more oat-dense. I suspect my Grandma used to add more golden syrup. Still my favourite biscuit!
April 02 2011 at 9:49 am
Probably the same recipe Jackie – the photo is of the muesli ANZAC cookies created for The Rocks markets (so the untoasted oats also have nuts and dried fruit and even bran – this muesli had lemon myrtle and wattleseed which gave a great flavour). The colour / darkness comes from the length of cooking (the more lightly coloured will be softer – cook for longer and they will be harder) xx
April 04 2011 at 10:24 am
Look at the gorgeous color! I actually thought, these had sunflower seeds too. Looks healthy and simple. I have been baking BillGranger’s version for the past 4 years. Will def give this a go!
April 04 2011 at 1:20 pm
all the seeds of the muesli! thanks Sneh yes enjoy and hope you love them. Bill Granger is the sweetest souls – first met him in the early days of opening his first Bills (even before perhaps with Chrissie Juliet)
April 05 2011 at 12:02 am
Thanks for the recipe! Much better than buying the packaged stuff loaded with refined sugars and preservatives.
April 26 2011 at 5:50 am
what temp is a “slow oven”? and will that make them the chewy version or crunchy?
April 26 2011 at 7:20 am
hi Jodi – use 125 degrees C as a guide for slow plus or minus 5 degrees. The hotter the oven and the longer the cooking the more crunchy they’ll become. You can judge by the colour as they will also be darker. If you take them out of the oven just as they become golden then you’ll get the chewy kind. Hope that helps! Let us know how they go?
April 27 2011 at 12:06 am
Rebecca, thanks for the recipe. The kids have an Anzac biscuit competition on Friday so this is very timely. We’ll be whipping up a batch on Thursday night! Kathy
April 27 2011 at 3:42 am
What lovely news that the kids will be baking my mum’s recipe Kathy. Good luck to them for the competition!
April 21 2012 at 9:51 am
Lovely to share your mum’s recipe Rebecca.
April 21 2012 at 6:14 pm
thanks Lizzy